A significant initiative by project staff (Blood Donation Unit)

To prevent maternal death and infant death to achieve SDG, the staff of Community Based Health Outreach program implemented by Mukti Cox's Bazar with the funding of International Organization for Migration (IOM) aiming to attain the goal that not a single pregnant mother falls into the risk of death due to lack of blood, expressed determination to proceed with voluntary blood donation at an urgent moment.

On 13 March 2024, an emergency discussion meeting was held as part of the blood donation program at the concerned project office of Mukti Cox's Bazar.  Sheikh Jahangir Hussain, National Program Officer (IP) and Dr. Tabassum Poli, Clinical Supervisor were present on behalf of IOM. On the other hand, all the senior officers and supervisors including Mr. Lutful Kabir Chowdhury, Deputy Chief Executive and Mr. Sujan Mahmud Jamal, Project Coordinator from Mukti Cox's Bazar were present along with all senior officers and supervisors. Later, the supervisors trained 196 staff and volunteers and formed a separate “Mukti Blood Donation Unit” comprising all the projects of Mukti Cox's Bazar, 212 staff and volunteers to carry out the following functions. According to the decision of the said meeting on March 18, 2024, a few among the decided tasks to be undertaken by the team were: creating awareness in the community about the benefits of blood donation, especially, in Rohingya camps, creating the opportunity of free blood group diagnosis from IOM health post at the camp level, preparing list with mobile numbers of interested blood donors and beneficiaries, preparing list with blood groups of all project staff and volunteers, ensuring blood donation to the host and Rohingya patients covered by the project at the moment of emergency, especially, blood donation during delivery for pregnant mothers, referral to hospitals with blood donors in case of risky deliveries, blood donation to blood banks for helpless and urgent patients, and celebration of World Blood Donor Day (June 14-2024), and preparing blood donation weekly report and submitting to IOM. Notably, "Mukti Blood Donation Unit" has already completed the blood donation for 10 pregnant mothers and saving 2 critical patients including 8 Rohingya beneficiaries.